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A 26-year-old Tsholotsho man was on Tuesday slapped with an effective 15 years in jail for raping his neighbour’s 11-year-old daughter on three occasions.Rodric Ndlovu of Sipepa Village under Chief Mathuphula area was convicted on his own plea of guilty to three counts of rape as defined in Section 65 of the Criminal Law (Reform and Codification) Act, Chapter 9: 23 by Bulawayo regional magistrate, Mrs Judith Zuyu.
He was sentenced to 18 years in jail of which three years were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar offence.
The prosecutor, Mr Tinashe Dzipe, said on 31 May, Ndlovu went to the complainant’s mother and asked for permission to allow her daughter assist him milk his cattle at his homestead.
The court was told that after milking the cows, Ndlovu asked the girl to go to his kitchen hut so that she could collect milk as a token of appreciation for the service.
Ndlovu followed the girl to the hut where he raped her.
Soon after committing the offence, Ndlovu threatened to assault the complainant if she reported the matter to anyone.
The court was told that Ndlovu repeated the offence between 1 and 3 June.
A report was made to the police leading to Ndlovu’s arrest.
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